ZIM PASTOR JAILED IN ANGOLA

A Zimbabwean Seventh Day Adventists pastor has been jailed
in Angola for kidnapping. He was jailed along with four other pastors of the
same church.

But according to Maka, an Angolan newspaper, the five were
sentenced to prison terms ranging between three and five years, without being
charged or going for trial on December 29, last year.

Pastor Burns Sibanda from Bulawayo and his
Zambian colleague Passmore Hachalinga were each sentenced to three years and
six months.

“African missionaries, Burns Musa Sibanda from Zimbabwe who
was serving as chief finance officer and his colleague Passmore Hachalinga from
Zambia were both working for the church in Angola. Judge Antonio Francisco
sentenced the pair to three years and six months each month for allegedly
kidnapping another pastor.

Zimbabwe West Union Conference president Pastor Micah Choga
confirmed that Sibanda is imprisoned in Angola.

“I can only confirm that he is jailed in Angola as I am
waiting for the next high office for exact details of what is happening on the
ground,” he said.

In a statement, the SDA church leadership in Southern
Africa, the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID), said an appeal against
both the conviction and sentence has been lodged.